Louisiana
and the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

General Information

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a wide variety of programs and services for the nation’s 23.5 million veterans.  In 2007, about 5.5 million people were treated in VA health care facilities, 3.6 million veterans and survivors received VA disability compensation or pensions, more than 500,000 used GI Bill education benefits and more than 2.2 million owned homes purchased with GI Bill home loan benefits.  Some 90,000 veterans took advantage of VA’s vocational rehabilitation and employment service in 2007.  More than 100,000 veterans and family members were buried in VA’s national cemeteries and more than 360,000 headstones and markers were provided for veterans’ graves worldwide.

General Information – Louisiana

- Number of veterans:  326,000

- VA expenditures in Louisiana:  $1.15 billion

- Compensation and pensions:  $579 million

- Readjustment benefits:  $45 million

- Medical and construction programs:  $492 million

- Insurance and indemnities:  $19 million

- Number of veterans and survivors receiving disability compensation or pension payments in Louisiana:  57,978

- Number of Louisiana veterans using GI Bill education benefits:  7,384

- Number of veterans owning homes backed by VA loan guarantees:  32,129

- Value of Louisiana home loans guaranteed by VA:  $997 million

- Number of VA life insurance policies held by Louisiana residents:  16,182

- Value of VA life insurance policies held by Louisiana residents:  $188 million 

- Number of Louisiana participants in VA vocational rehabilitation:  1,133

- Number of veterans buried in Louisiana’s VA national cemeteries:  409

- Number of headstones and markers provided for graves of Louisiana veterans and survivors:  5,193

Health Care

One of the most visible of all VA benefits is health care.  VA has 153 hospitals, 732 community-based outpatient clinics, 232 Vet Centers, 135 nursing homes, 47 residential rehabilitation treatment programs and 121 comprehensive home care programs.  To improve patients’ ability to access care, VA has changed from a hospital-based system to a primarily outpatient-focused system over the past decade.  Veterans will make more than 60 million outpatient visits to VA health care facilities this year.

Health Care - Louisiana

- Inpatient admissions, statewide, fiscal year 2007:  8,233

- Alexandria:  2,531

- Shreveport:  5,702

- Outpatient visits, statewide, fiscal year 2007:  884,935

- Outpatient clinic locations

- Baton Rouge

- Hammond

- Houma

- Jennings

- Lafayette

- Monroe

- Reserve

- Slidell

Post-Conflict Care

VA has launched special efforts to provide a "seamless transition" for those returning from service in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF).  Each VA medical facility and benefits regional office has a point of contact to coordinate activities locally to help meet the needs of these returning combat service members and veterans.  In addition, VA increased the staffing of benefits counselors at key military hospitals where severely wounded service members from Iraq and Afghanistan are frequently sent.  Once home, recent Iraq and Afghan veterans have ready access to VA health care, which is free of charge for five years following separation for any health problem possibly related to wartime service.  Some 300,000 veterans from the Global War on Terror have sought VA health care since returning stateside, about one-third of the total number of men and women leaving military service.

Post-Conflict Care - Louisiana

- Number of veterans from the Global War on Terror seeking treatment in 2007:  3,855

- Alexandria:  1,192

- New Orleans:  1,472

- Shreveport:  1,191

- Veterans Readjustment Counseling Centers (Vet Centers) Locations:

- Baton Rouge

- Kenner

- Shreveport

Disabilities and Pensions

Not all military service-related issues end when people are discharged from active duty.  About 2.7 million veterans receive monthly VA disability compensation for medical conditions related to their service in uniform.  VA pensions go to about 323,000 wartime veterans with limited means.  Family members of about 524,000 veterans qualify for monthly VA payments as the survivors of disabled veterans or pension recipients.

Disabilities and Pensions - Louisiana

- Number of veterans receiving monthly disability compensation:  38,061

- Number of VA pensions to veterans in Louisiana:  8,372

- Number of death compensation or pension payments made to survivors:  11,545

- Number of disability compensation claims processed:  9,703

Memorial Affairs

Most men and women who have been in the military are eligible for burial in a national cemetery, as are their dependent children and usually their spouses.  VA manages the country’s network of national cemeteries with more than 2.9 million gravesites at 125 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico, as well as in 33 soldier’s lots and monument sites.  In 2007, more than 100,000 veterans and dependents were buried in VA's national cemeteries.  Additionally, VA provided more than 359,000 headstones and markers and 423,000 Presidential Memorial Certificates to the loved ones of deceased veterans.  VA-assisted state veterans cemeteries provided more than 23,000 interments.

Memorial Affairs – Louisiana

- National cemetery burials in Louisiana, 2007:  409

- Alexandria:  41

- Baton Rouge:  5

- Port Hudson:  363

- State cemetery burials (cemeteries receiving VA grants):

- Northwest Louisiana Veterans:  4

- Headstones and markers provided in 2007 (statewide):  5,193

- Presidential Memorial Certificates issued in 2007 (statewide):  2,266

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